Tool box conundrum

[Carter240]

Hey guys, just looking for some opinions because I'm absolutely torn on a decision. Long story short, I bought a Mac tool box for work, 2 weeks later I get a service truck. So I brought it home and sold my small at home box I had at the time. Fast forward 3 years, I get a new job and I'm told I'll need a tool box in the shop. Unwilling to unload my Mac box, I pick up a Snap On K series I think? Box off kijiji and haul it to where I'm now working. When I get there I'm told I'm getting a service vehicle again lol.



So now, I can't choose which box to keep. I love the way the Mac box looks, my garage will be white walls with the wall behind the tool box being as close to Porsche Seal Grey as I can get. Going with a red/black colour pallet around the garage for benches and such. However the detents are stiff as heck so when I close the drawers, anything remotely loose inside the box shifts around and I find it annoying. I've backed off the adjusters as much as possible. I could likely sell it for $3500 cnd locally.

The Snap On box is much nicer mechanically, but I hate the wrap on it, but it's black underneath. I'm thinking of wrapping the outsides red and leaving the drawers black. I purchased it for $2400 cnd so is a bit cheaper to keep around, and a little smaller so I'd gain some floor space back. I don't see myself filling the Snap On box to the point of needing more space as I plan to have cabinets to hold things like tap and die kits or any other larger plastic cases.


Possible wrap? The material is $12 per sqft


What would you do? I've thought about selling both and buy a red Snap On box but anything locally is $4000+ . I got a pretty good deal on the one I have.

 

[Kaizen]

wait a few years. with your record you'll need it for a new job. nice looking boxes.

 

[ford33]

Keep both. Those are nice boxes.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

I like the wrap on the Snap-On. It would be a nice accent with the color scheme.

Why not try to trade the Snap-On box for another one equal or a little larger in size, then sell the MAC. Either way, if it was me I'd sell the MAC since you know you can get $3500 for it. That would definitely cover the cost of a new wrap and put funds back into your project.

BTW, let's see a pic of the bike! Looks like a Yamaha Virago rear wheel.

 

[ZipSnafu]

I'll take the MAC box for you and suffer the detent issues you are having. I have room to store it.

 

[bdbecker]

Sell the Mac and remove the wrap from the Snap-On and leave it black until you finish the rest of garage. Then, if the fact that the box is black still bothers you and doesn't go well with your theme, wrap it in whatever color you think would fit best. You might end up liking the black with the gray.

 

[Carter240]

I like the wrap on the Snap-On. It would be a nice accent with the color scheme.

Why not try to trade the Snap-On box for another one equal or a little larger in size, then sell the MAC. Either way, if it was me I'd sell the MAC since you know you can get $3500 for it. That would definitely cover the cost of a new wrap and put funds back into your project.

BTW, let's see a pic of the bike! Looks like a Yamaha Virago rear wheel.

You sir, have an excellent eye. That is my latest project I completed over winter. It was the first motorcycle my dad bought when I was a kid. I'll always remember it sitting on the guys lawn down the street and thinking "man who would buy that ugly bike?". Then one day after school it was in our driveway lol.



My father ended up upgrading after a year or two and had it up until 3 years ago when I made him realize the bike wasn't worth selling because it needed so much work. He gave it to me to learn on. I restored all the mechanical bits and then started the build so it should feel good as new, or better now.

 

[tthornto]

Remove the wrap and paint the chrome portion of the drawer handles red. Then keep both boxes anyways.

 

[Carter240]

Haha well the idea would be to use the mo way from the box I sell and finish the garage, I just finished the electrical. Drywall, paint and lights should be able to be covered for $3500 if I do some of the work myself.

 

[crewchief888]

wait a few years. with your record you'll need it for a new job. nice looking boxes.

this...

i sold a couple of my boxes years ago, if i ever have to get out of a service truck, and had to work in a shop, i'm screwed on tool storage...

keep em both

 

[-Brent-]

Sell the more expensive one and use the money for the shop project, perhaps?

I am not into that wrap, but I didn't know anything about it until looking it up. Still it's a little busy. Unwrapped looks classier.

 

[Carter240]

Sell the more expensive one and use the money for the shop project, perhaps?

I am not into that wrap, but I didn't know anything about it until looking it up. Still it's a little busy. Unwrapped looks classier.

What did you look up? I don't know anything about it either really haha

And I agree completely, it's too busy and looks like something Ken Block would have pasted on his car. I'm a huge fan of keeping it clean/classy looking.

I am so thinking wayyy too deeply into this. I'd just hate to sell either one and regret it. As for keeping both, I'd love to obviously but my garage/shop is only 22' wide and 28' long. With my little fab corner set up space is tough to find. The shed is also full. Organized, but very full.

 

[CNGsaves]

+1 to Keep BOTH.

If no room in garage now, then the Snappy becomes a "dresser" in bedroom !!

 

[BoilermakerFan]

You sir, have an excellent eye. That is my latest project I completed over winter. It was the first motorcycle my dad bought when I was a kid. I'll always remember it sitting on the guys lawn down the street and thinking "man who would buy that ugly bike?". Then one day after school it was in our driveway lol.



My father ended up upgrading after a year or two and had it up until 3 years ago when I made him realize the bike wasn't worth selling because it needed so much work. He gave it to me to learn on. I restored all the mechanical bits and then started the build so it should feel good as new, or better now.

Sweet, and early model monoshock rear too! Nice work on the build! It looks miles better than stock! Man, you really chopped back the frame. I bet you had fun with the carbs. Any reason why you went to individual pod filters instead of using the frame airbox?

Did you upgrade the ignition? Is it still a 750? And I just noticed how you packaged the electronics and battery... Super cool! I like the brass knuckle feature on the bracket.

I acquired an '82 Virago 750 and a Virago 1100 in my trade. I traded off the 1100 and I was going to sell/trade the 750, but like you said, they have no value as donor or projects so I'm keeping it. I'll upgrade mine to a C5 Ignition, a single carb conversion, custom Kinetic exhaust, and I have the top end and pistons from a 920 so it will be bumped to 920 when I build mine. I already have a R6 conventional fork that I'm thinking about using on it if I don't put it on my KZ440.

 

[crewchief888]

I am so thinking wayyy too deeply into this. I'd just hate to sell either one and regret it. As for keeping both, I'd love to obviously but my garage/shop is only 22' wide and 28' long.

my garage is even smaller,
i have 1 side wall that has my generator, man door, 2 sets of boxes with side boxes, and the air compressor.
my bigger (work) boxes are on the opposite wall.
26" roller (mostly for storage) and top box (machinist tools) stashed down in the basement as well...

i also have a couple large cabinets up on the wall, 1 for tools, 1 for fluids.

bench grinder and hand shear on stands, drill press, belt/disk sander on wheels, mig welder on a HF cart....

i can still park 1 car and my harley inside...

 

[Carter240]

Sweet, and early model monoshock rear too! Nice work on the build! It looks miles better than stock! Man, you really chopped back the frame. I bet you had fun with the carbs. Any reason why you went to individual pod filters instead of using the frame airbox?

Did you upgrade the ignition? Is it still a 750? And I just noticed how you packaged the electronics and battery... Super cool! I like the brass knuckle feature on the bracket.

I acquired an '82 Virago 750 and a Virago 1100 in my trade. I traded off the 1100 and I was going to sell/trade the 750, but like you said, they have no value as donor or projects so I'm keeping it. I'll upgrade mine to a C5 Ignition, a single carb conversion, custom Kinetic exhaust, and I have the top end and pistons from a 920 so it will be bumped to 920 when I build mine. I already have a R6 conventional fork that I'm thinking about using on it if I don't put it on my KZ440.

I didn't know there was an issue with the ignition? Mine is a 920, as for the carbs, when I took them apart and put them in my ultra sonic cleaner they came out perfect, better yet they weren't even bad when they went in but I had already purchased the carb kit lol. You're right about the value of these things, they're worth less than dirt haha. So far I have $1800 invested in this bike but that includes good tires, lithium battery and a few other extra goodies I didn't "need". Should be a fun cruiser for under 2k when it's done. I'm just waiting for some HEL black stainless brake hoses and it should be road worthy but the fork will need to be reworked to match the Daytona rear shock. It's slightly stiffer, but not too bad.

 

[Carter240]

my garage is even smaller,
i have 1 side wall that has my generator, man door, 2 sets of boxes with side boxes, and the air compressor.
my bigger (work) boxes are on the opposite wall.
26" roller (mostly for storage) and top box (machinist tools) stashed down in the basement as well...

i also have a couple large cabinets up on the wall, 1 for tools, 1 for fluids.

bench grinder and hand shear on stands, drill press, belt/disk sander on wheels, mig welder on a HF cart....

i can still park 1 car and my harley inside...

Got any pictures of your layout? It sounds pretty functional.

I think I have mine set up the way I need it, I'm still planning on having a 3'x6' welding table added. I also have a long table set up to build bikes on which takes up a fair amount of space. Other mentionables would be a small band saw, a bead roller that I built and my welding cart. I still manage to park my Tacoma, Porsche and motorcycle in there but barely lol





As you can see, this is why I'd like to keep the red theme going.

 

[Markfothebeast]

Sell them both, go to Home Depot, and buy about 8 large Husky tool boxes with roller bearings. Paint them red and put a Snap On emblem on. Shabang! More tool storage!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Carter240]

Haha I'm way too much of a stickler for quality to be happy with that. I do love what some guys have done with those but the drawers aren't deep enough and the quality isn't the same.

 

[Markfothebeast]

I got rid of my Snap On some years ago and picked this up 2 years ago. Drawers open, tools fit in, drawers close. 500 pesos. I can't slam the drawers any harder than physically possible as I have. I beat it like a red headed step child. Works like the day it came off the factory line in Taiwan.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[BoilermakerFan]

I didn't know there was an issue with the ignition? Mine is a 920, as for the carbs, when I took them apart and put them in my ultra sonic cleaner they came out perfect, better yet they weren't even bad when they went in but I had already purchased the carb kit lol. You're right about the value of these things, they're worth less than dirt haha. So far I have $1800 invested in this bike but that includes good tires, lithium battery and a few other extra goodies I didn't "need". Should be a fun cruiser for under 2k when it's done. I'm just waiting for some HEL black stainless brake hoses and it should be road worthy but the fork will need to be reworked to match the Daytona rear shock. It's slightly stiffer, but not too bad.

There isn't a problem with the stock ignition, except that the '80's ignition curves seriously limit the potential of the engine. The C5 Ignition has 4 built in curves. Sweet that yours is a original 920, the 750s have starter issues so I have to get a 920 starter when I finally build mine.

I don't know how much research you have done on the forks, but do not get progressive springs for the fork, the handling on progressive forks gets wonky. Race-Tech makes a sweet cartridge valve emulator and they have multiple spring rates for forks so you plug in your weights and it recommends the best spring weight. Many guys swear by Race-Tech fork oil too. I will be using it when I rebuild my CX500 fork. I have to buy new springs too... I'm 200 pounds and I bought Progressive Suspension springs for the fork before I learned it's a bad idea.

 

[Carter240]

Well that's good to know, I almost ordered the progressive springs a couple weeks ago! As for the starter the 920 has the same crappy system and sounds like a box of rocks. The fix apparently is the 1100 side cover, all the gears and the solenoid . I'm trying to find a parts bike and swap it all over but for now the lithium battery cranks it over much faster and seems to have at least helped the issue.

What bikes did the C5 ignition come on?

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Got any pictures of your layout? It sounds pretty functional.

I also have a long table set up to build bikes on which takes up a fair amount of space.

Ok, more info on those tables please! And it doesn't look they lift and I don't see a hoist or cherry picker, so how do you get them up on the table?

And what is your sport bike? I can't tell from the two pics...

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Well that's good to know, I almost ordered the progressive springs a couple weeks ago! As for the starter the 920 has the same crappy system and sounds like a box of rocks. The fix apparently is the 1100 side cover, all the gears and the solenoid . I'm trying to find a parts bike and swap it all over but for now the lithium battery cranks it over much faster and seems to have at least helped the issue.

What bikes did the C5 ignition come on?

Hmmm. Hadn't heard or read about that fix! Thanks for the tip. I have a local mentor that has been a Honda Master Mechanic since the '70s. He's now 74 years old and finally willing to teach others. I just got lucky and timing is everything so he has helped me immensely. I also trade with him all the time and bring him every OEM piece I pull off my bikes. I just give them to him so he takes care of me. I think he has a couple 1100s in the parts yard...

The C5 Ignitions are aftermarket. Again, I got lucky and he offers an aftermarket ignition for every bike I own except the CX500. The Virago is the most expensive one because it is the most complicated setup with the most parts. I'll send you the link in a PM.

 

[Carter240]

Hmmm I'll have to look into the ignition swap...

As for the tables, the one on the wall was free, I cleaned it up and painted it with some tremclad red, or fire red I think actually, it's a bit tall with the castors so I might remove them.

The bike table I just built out of wood and used the same can of roll on tremclad. I also installed 110v power outlets in the middle on each side. 6 castors make it easy to turn 90 degrees and move it against the wall and out of the way. The top is just plywood they I stained with left over stain from a previous project. Nothing fancy, I think the table was $130 with the electrical boxes and wiring. Pretty cheap. Oh and I built a ramp out of the scraps I had left over from building the top. I pushed the bike up on my own with a bit of a running start haha.







The vice was a garage sale find - $5 and it works great lol I can be thrifty but I am a bit particular about some things.

 

[Hammer1963]

Look at it this way. You already have the money invested in both cabs. What would be the cost of replacing them and I say that because who's kidding who? Do you really think that you will not eventually fill both? Trust me, you will and sooner than you realize.

I am the guy that would keep both and remove the wrap from the Snap-on and trim it just the opposite of the MAC. Opposing contrast is a good thing. A very good thing!

 

[-Brent-]

What did you look up? I don't know anything about it either really haha

And I agree completely, it's too busy and looks like something Ken Block would have pasted on his car. I'm a huge fan of keeping it clean/classy looking.

I am so thinking wayyy too deeply into this. I'd just hate to sell either one and regret it. As for keeping both, I'd love to obviously but my garage/shop is only 22' wide and 28' long. With my little fab corner set up space is tough to find. The shed is also full. Organized, but very full.

I Googled "Rogue Status" and a bunch of stuff came up about a clothing line. DTA stands for Don't Trust Anyone, which is part of their branding. It's endorsed by a couple musicians and skaters and such.

I am certainly the WRONG person to talk about having too many tool boxes but I do think you can fit them. My shop is smaller and I have 130 inches of boxes, not counting the ones I have under my drill press and bench grinders.

I am interested to see what you come up with. I already like your shop and in the stage it's in.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Hmmm I'll have to look into the ignition swap...

As for the tables, the one on the wall was free, I cleaned it up and painted it with some tremclad red, or fire red I think actually, it's a bit tall with the castors so I might remove them.

The bike table I just built out of wood and used the same can of roll on tremclad. I also installed 110v power outlets in the middle on each side. 6 castors make it easy to turn 90 degrees and move it against the wall and out of the way. The top is just plywood they I stained with left over stain from a previous project. Nothing fancy, I think the table was $130 with the electrical boxes and wiring. Pretty cheap. Oh and I built a ramp out of the scraps I had left over from building the top. I pushed the bike up on my own with a bit of a running start haha.

Thanks for the extra pics. Very cool resto-mod on the steel table. I didn't realize the other one was wood.

Wow! A running start then pushing it up that ramp and onto the table!

 

[BlackLS2]

Keep em both...looks like the tide could bring you a gig that needs them.

My 83 XV750 would never (a month after the warranty ended) fire the front cylinder properly till you hit 2500 rpm. Spent a few years and hundreds trying to diagnose or have it diagnosed...learned a lot about trouble shooting and stealerships. Finally pulled the spark box under the tank and put $10 of capicitors in it....fixed.
Years later there was a guy on the Web that did that, now there are more options. Bought a used V65 Magna and never looked back...took a long time to forgive the Virago for years of frustration, but still have a soft spot for them. Rode a friends sweet 96 1100 Virago a while back...forgot how much fun they are around town.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Keep em both...looks like the tide could bring you a gig that needs them.

My 83 XV750 would never (a month after the warranty ended) fire the front cylinder properly till you hit 2500 rpm. Spent a few years and hundreds trying to diagnose or have it diagnosed...learned a lot about trouble shooting and stealerships. Finally pulled the spark box under the tank and put $10 of capicitors in it....fixed.
Years later there was a guy on the Web that did that, now there are more options. Bought a used V65 Magna and never looked back...took a long time to forgive the Virago for years of frustration, but still have a soft spot for them. Rode a friends sweet 96 1100 Virago a while back...forgot how much fun they are around town.

My 750 has "wiring issues". I wonder if the PO had the same issues your were having and thought it was a wiring issue. I'm going to use MotoGadget on it when I rebuild it as a custom anyway and the C5 Ignition should take care of your issue if mine has it... The starters are the Achilles Heel of the bikes though. And the shaft is on the wrong side so they like to try to throw you off the bike, especially the 1100s! I love the Honda V4s! There are so many great motorcycles out there and so little time, money, and space!